Crazy: doing the same thing and expecting a different result.
Last September, I embarked on a journey towards getting out of personal debt. It led me to make some unfamiliar decisions and to try new things to achieve my desired result.
Here are my thoughts on how change can help achieve the desired outcome in your company and save you money.
We consistently act as though doing the same thing will produce a different result. We may not think it but we do act like it. We want change in our organizations but we rarely hire out-of-the-box thinkers and true change agents and we rarely attempt to do things differently to begin the change journey. We actually don’t want to change. Change can be painful, even good change. Even the desired result can be painful.
What are you willing to do to achieve the change your company needs?
Counting the cost. When I embarked on my debt-free journey I had to assess value. The same is true when we diet.
- Is it more valuable for me to lose this weight or eat this dessert?
- Is it more valuable for me to eat out right now and spend this money or to get out of debt quickly?
In the same way – is it more valuable for you and your company to use this so-and-so platform that is too cumbersome and archaic than to pursue and turnover to a new system? Is it more valuable to keep this system than to move to a cheaper option?
- Do you even know what it would take to get a new platform? Have you done an audit of your equipment lately and verified you are on the right track in the market and where technology is and will be headed?
- Do you hear and handle multiple complaints of old software? But you don’t see another way forward and assume it will cost more. (In the same way, assuming that to eat healthy will cost more but not trying a new grocery store nor asking/hiring a trainer for healthy eating tips or planning a budget and workout schedule.)
We are always putting value on the decisions we make. We may say our goal is to lose weight or get out of debt, but if we are spending more money than we have, or eating more calories than we are burning, than we actually have something we value more than our realized goal. Our values and goals have to be aligned for change to occur and our goals to be achieved.
For example, when my goal was to get out of debt, my values had to align with this. I valued my car – with all the bells and whistles, Bluetooth, leather seats, etc., but I valued getting out of debt more than my car. I still value having a car like that, but when I am out of debt, I can choose and save for any car that I want. So I sold my car for an older model with no Bluetooth in order to get out of debt one year earlier and achieve my goal.
In budgeting and making goals for 2017, it will be best to determine what are your organization’s highest values and what are the goals. Is the value doing things efficiently? The most cost effective? Top-of-the-line technology? The goals can be aligned from the company values and this can help architect your budget. For example, if your company values the top-of-the-line technology but no one will approve your high budget then your company actually values cost effectiveness.
- Would you be willing to do an audit of your technology and see what the possibilities are?
Are all your stakeholders onboard?
As you begin to determine the yearly goals and craft your budget around these, it’s obviously important to realize that even if stakeholders are willing to dish out and approve the cash for projects, they have to also be fully sold on the organization transformation that will take place at the fruition of such projects.
What if to bring a desired result to your technology, you could reduce some of your expenditures?
Why continue this way?
Finally, it would be helpful to make a case for every area of your budget that you currently have in place.
- Defend the resources and platforms you have.
- What would be the reason to continue in the way you did last year?
As you look at your business and budget and the dreams and desires you have as an organization, begin to budget in steps towards change. An audit of your current position would be a great place to start.